2015 Recap

January-
~We went on vacation with Mariah's family. A Caribbean cruise that left from New Orleans.
~Spring semester started up the day we got back.
~Mariah took all online classes with her new General Education major, while working 30 hours per week.
~Isaac was chugging along with his Civil Engineering degree.
~Mariah moved to the front desk position at work.

February-
~We celebrated our first legit Valentine's Day as a married couple (last year 2014 Mariah had her last wisdom tooth out).
~Towards the end of February we both decided we were ready to start trying to have a baby.
~We attended the Idaho Falls temple for the last time for awhile, because it closed for renovation.

March-
~One of our best friends Breanna came home from her mission to Louisville Kentucky this month, and we attended her homecoming.
~We were both convinced that Mariah was pregnant this month, but were sadly disappointed when it just turned out to be an ovarian cyst. This lead to a semi-hard few weeks.
~We signed up for Life Insurance this month.
~We looked at our new house in Mid March, and paid the security deposit and signed the lease towards the end of the month.
~We attended Mariah's work party at Outer Limits, where we played laser tag and mini golf. It was a lot of fun!
~We went out to eat at Big Judd's the night before our camping trip with most of Isaac's family.
~We went on our first camping trip at Twin Bridges together this month during spring break.
~We attended Maycee Kerr's baby blessing the end of this month.

April-
~We got keys for our new home on April 1st.
~We went to Isaac's mission reunion the first weekend this month, and had a great time catching up with people he hadn't seen in awhile.
~We watched General Conference and absolutely loved the talks.
~We also moved the essentials into our new home the same weekend.
~Isaac's dad and brother in law, Hans, came down and helped us finish moving on the 11th.
~We also went to red lobster that night with Mariah's family.
~We found out that Mariah was pregnant on April 15. Even though we were "not preventing" we were still totally surprised. I felt great for the most part, except for nights when I usually felt minimally sick and so very exhausted.
~Mariah started working full time again on April 20.
~Mariah had her first doctor's appointment on April 23, which consisted of some blood work, and seeing how far along the baby was. The nurse tried the heart doppler, if we could hear the heartbeat then it was 10 weeks, if not only 6 weeks.We couldn't, so only 6 weeks at that time. 
~We went to our last couple of Sundays in our old ward, and also our last cub scouting events.

May-
~May started with a boom of Mariah being a lot more sick, although less tired.
~We finished up our semester the first few days, and took finals.
~Isaac had a little bit of a break after finals, which was nice for him to get a little bit caught up on his sleep.
~We went home for Mother's Day weekend to spend time with our families.
~We told both of our families that we were expecting a sweet baby in December on Mother's Day,  which also happened to be our 2 year Anniversary. Everyone was so excited, and we got some wonderful reactions.
~We went down to Utah for Memorial Day weekend and stayed with our friends the Bradley's. We went to the Payson Utah temple open house, and spent all of Monday going to baby stores and checking out prices and different products (Idaho has the worst selection of baby stuff).
~Mariah got stranded on the freeway for a little bit after the car overheated, while she waited for a tow truck.
~Mariah taught her first Relief Society lesson on May 31st. She was very nervous.

June-
~We had another doctor appointment on the 2nd. We got to hear the babies heartbeat for the first time, and the doctor estimated about 12 weeks. Mariah had to have her blood taken again, to test her thyroid levels. The nurse called the next day and said her levels were still low so they sent over a prescription of medication.
~After starting to take the Thyroid medication, Mariah started to have a lot more energy than she'd had in a long time.
~We announced the pregnancy the first week in June, at 12.5 weeks.
~Titus came home from deployment, and so the first weekend in June we went to Idaho Falls to see him.
~We went to the Manti pageant on June 20 with Mariah's parents.
~Isaac's summer class ended on June 25, and he was so glad to be done!

July-
~We started out July with Isaac starting work at Mariah's parents shop. He commuted everyday to work while living in Pocatello.
~July 4th was spent with family. Barbecue, Chukars game, and fireworks.
~We had a doctor appointment on July 8th.
~We felt the baby move for the first time on July 10th(M) and July 11th(I).
~We received our new callings this month. Isaac as the Sunday School 1st Counselor, and both of us teaching Sunday School (12-13 year olds).
~Isaac's 5 year class reunion was on July 24th, it was fun to see some faces we haven't seen in awhile.
~Mariah chopped all of her hair off again in July.
~We both spoke in our new ward on July 26th. It was nice to be done with that!
~We got to see our baby at the ultrasound on July 28th. We were both glad we didn't find out the gender yet!

August-
~Mariah's sister Lindsey went through the Logan temple for her endowments on August 1. It was a wonderful experience.
~We had another doctor appointment on the 4th. It's always reassuring to hear that everything is going well!
~August 7th-10th we spent in McCall Idaho with Isaac's parents and most siblings.
~Isaac was finally done working 2 jobs on the 14th.
~The 19th while we were in Idaho Falls, we went to dinner with Mariah's sister Lindsey and her boyfriend Jared. This was the first time we'd met him.
~School started back up on the 24th, Isaac taking 16 credits and Mariah with 15.
~Mariah also gave her two week notice at work on the 24th.
~The 31st brought another doctors appointment. We got to hear baby's heartbeat again, which of course the nurse had to keep trying because of our wiggle worm! Only 15 weeks to go!

September-
~Mariah started out the month with a sinus infection, which is seeming to be a regular thing at least once every fall.
~Mariah's last day of work was the 4th. Definitely mixed emotions.
~Isaac ran in the Pocatello Marathon on the 5th, and finished just under his goal time with a final time of 3:29:23.
~We also went to the last Chukar's game of the season with the Wood family. It was less than 50 degrees, so we were wrapped up in blankets!
~For Labor Day on the 7th, we went to the fair with the Stewart family. We were both exhausted after walking around for 5 hours. Mariah being 26 weeks pregnant, and Isaac having ran a marathon two days prior.
~Mariah took the glucose test on September 23, at 28 weeks. It was definitely not a big deal, like everyone seems to think.
~Isaac ran another marathon on the 26th, the Huntsville Marathon. It was definitely the hardest one he has run so far, with way too hot of temperatures.

October-
~We went to Idaho Falls for conference weekend, to spend time with family. We were able to make a lot of freezer meals with Isaac's siblings on Saturday the 3rd.
~Mariah went to Witchpalooza at Gardener's Village with her mom, sister, and a few extended family members on the 10th.
~We both had dentist appointments on the 14th, and found out that Isaac had two cracked fillings. He hadn't noticed them a ton before, but they got increasingly more painful until they got fixed!
~Isaac had a job interview on October 21, for a promotion at FedEx to an assistant manager type position. He ended up getting the job, and we felt very blessed and happy about it.
~Towards the end of the month, we took a sequence of preparing for baby/birth classes and a hospital tour. We both felt a lot more ready after attending all of those, especially the hospital tour.
~The baby shower was October 24, and we were lucky enough to have so many supportive family and friends bring gifts over to help us prepare for the baby.
~The last weekend in October, we went to Utah to finish up some baby shopping. We stayed with our friends the Bradleys. We were able to get the baby's carseat and many other important things.

November-
~We were lucky enough to do a temple session at the Rexburg temple on the 7th of November. We had to wait over an hour, but it was worth it. It was the last planned temple trip until after baby.
~We registered for classes at midnight on the 8th. Mariah registered for her very last college semester, which seemed so surreal.
~Mariah's first contractions were felt on November 10th. Braxton hicks contractions had been going on for a couple weeks prior.
~The weekend of the 13th-14th, Mariah went to Utah with her mom and sister for a girls weekend, and to do some Christmas shopping. It was a nice, last trip before baby came!
~Towards the middle of the month, we started to finalize all the things for baby around the house and really started to make sure that everything was completed for baby.
~I started feeling a lot of contractions while we were out shopping on Nov 20. We were thinking baby would be coming very soon!
~At our 37 week checkup for baby on November 24th, we found out the contractions I had been having for days were making things progress. I was dilated at a 1-2.
~After our appointment, we went out to a movie, The Martian, and although I had contractions the entire time, we loved our last movie date night for awhile.
~Isaac's 23rd birthday was on the 25th, and he spent a majority of the day taking care of me because I was feeling lousy. We did go out to eat for his birthday at a restaurant called The Bridge. It was the most expensive meal we've had as a date night for just the two of us. We loved our last date night before baby came.
~For Thanksgiving, since it was so close to my due date, and since I'd been having contractions, we had decided to stay in Pocatello for Thanksgiving. Mariah's parents came down and made food/ate with us.
~At our 38 week appointment, I was dilated to a strong 2, and 50% effaced.
~The first week of December, we were both so busy trying to get a bunch of school stuff done before the end of the semester. It was a very stressful, busy week with so many due dates.
~My labor contractions started on the night of December 4th, although I figured it was nothing, since it had been nothing every time before.
~We finally went into the hospital on the afternoon of the 5th, and our sweet Eliza girl was born that night.
~We came home from the hospital on the 7th. Mariah's mom stayed with us for the week, and that was an awesome blessing. That week was dead week at school, and Isaac was busy busy with work.
~Finals week was the following week, and it was very busy and stressful with a week old baby. We survived, and both ended up getting the grades that we needed.
~We went to Idaho Falls for Christmas, and it was wonderful that we were able to go for more than just one day.
~We received a lot of wonderful Christmas presents, but we mostly loved how relaxing our Christmas was and how much we got to see family.
~We ended our year visiting with the Titus family. They are basically a second family to us, and it was wonderful to see them.

2015 was an extremely busy, wonderful year. We had our lives change entirely when we became parents, and we wouldn't have it any other way. This time last year, we never would have guessed where we are today. We are so very excited to see what 2016 has to offer and what is ahead of us!

Home

So as it turns out, I am the best blogger. Not. Apparently there is nothing too great or crazy in life that is worth documenting. It sure has been an interesting semester for both Isaac and I. We've both grown a lot as people, with many adjustments and changes that have happened.

We have moved again. This is our 3rd house in the nearly 2 years we've been married. We usually move right around our anniversary, and live in each place for roughly a year. This place, I have a feeling is going to be the one for the remaining time in Pocatello. We love it. It has so many things that we have never had before. Like a dishwasher, which is the most wonderful thing ever. It also has gas forced heat, which we have never had the luxury of having. There is a nice storage area/laundry room that fits all of our extras, so that our 2nd bedroom isn't a storage room :) We are getting hand me down washer/dryer, that will be our very own. We've always been able to find something with a washer/dryer, so this time around having only hookups and having to get our own is kind of exciting. It feels more adult and real life. Which probably sounds weird. We also recently bought our first big piece of furniture together. We bought a nice bed frame for our bedroom. For the past two years, we were borrowing a bed from my parents, the one that I had in my room from the time I was about 10 (yes it was a queen size, don't worry). It worked well for us, but also happened to be a few feet off the ground, and we both wanted something a little closer to the ground, for our old bodies ;) It is funny that after knowing each other almost 7 years and being married for almost 2 years, we are still experiencing plenty of firsts together. Yet another reason why eternity still doesn't feel long enough sometimes.

Back to moving. We are about half and half in each house at this point. Which is okay, but hopefully we will be able to finish moving everything this weekend. It is true that moving brings your relationship closer together... and teaches you that you sure can disagree about a few things! We started looking for a place a little earlier this year, because I had been so antsy to move for MONTHS! We had two major requirements: it had to have a dishwasher, and it had to have laundry options. Isaac also really wanted gas heat (which turns out I have severely missed). I looked online for quite a few weeks before I found anything that really looked like something that might interest us. We decided to schedule a time to look at this one, and instantly we both loved it. The only thing that we immediately did not like, was the lack of a coat closet. Turns out, we will take dishwasher over a coat rack any day! We didn't want to immediately take the first thing we saw, just because we liked it, only to find something that we liked more later. On the other hand we also didn't want to pass it up and then be disappointed and not find anything that we like as much. It's not perfect, but it is as close to it as any place we have lived since getting married! It feels the most like home. The only downside to looking so early is that we had to pay double rent for one month so that we could secure it. Which has actually been totally doable. It looked daunting at first, but somehow it has been possible.

I look forward to all of the memories that we will have in this house together in the next two years.

Memphis Day 3

For the other Memphis posts see the links below:
Day 2 and Day 1
Saturday, October 11. Day 3.
Saturday morning we were able to go through a session at the Memphis Tennessee temple with Josh and Alicia while the grandparents watched Emmett, Melynn and Tucker. It really was a great experience. Isaac said the temple reminded him a lot of the one in his mission, the Canada Edmonton temple.
After the temple, we went back to Josh & Alicia's and headed out to the Civil Rights Museum. This is the site of Martin Luther King Jr's Assassination. The Lorraine Motel. It was very cool to walk through and see a lot of the civil rights artifacts and to hear a lot of stories. I probably could've spent a few days there, but unfortunately didn't have a few days to do so.

They had this station in the beginning that had telephones you could pick up that were connected so you could listen to the stories of several different people.

Tucker was very into listening to the stories of these people

They had some news videos going on in this room.

They had a lot of great exhibits to portray the real life things that happened.

They even had a replica jail cell that MLK was in.

There was a huge thing that happened right in Memphis.

We were able to look into the room he stayed at, room 306, the night before he died. I don't have any pictures of that for some reason. There was a piece of glass up but everything was original inside.

Up until 1988, it was a working motel. The square was cut out, because it had MLK's blood on it.

 

This is across the street from the Lorraine Motel, where they suspect the shooter was. There was also an exhibit of the events and suspects of the shooting in this same building.

After we left the museum we went and had some Tennessee BBQ! We ate at Central BBQ. It was delicious and had such a good price. The meal fed 8 adults and 3 children very well for around $50.

After dinner we went back to Josh and Alicia's house for games. The kids were allowed to stay up a little bit later and play games since it was our last night there.
We had such a fun time, and we were both really sad to leave. We can't wait to visit the other Wood family again in a few years.

On Sunday morning Wes drove us to the airport way before the sun came up.

We were in Idaho Falls around noon, and were able to see our best friend Titus off before he left for his deployment in the Navy.

Memphis Day 2

Yes, after three months I am finally finishing my Memphis posts.
If you missed Day One's actvities, here is the post.
Friday, October 10:
We woke up Friday morning and went to the Memphis Zoo with Josh, Alicia and the kids. It was a ton of fun watching the kids get excited and tell us everything they knew about all of the animals. Boy are they smart! We got there just in time to watch the sea lion show. Here are some videos from that.  

 

Here are some other pictures of the other zoo animals. As well as the camel that we got to ride on! The zoo is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love animals.

Zoo Entrance

Hippos, underwater was all we saw of them

After the zoo, we went to one of the best places in the Memphis area to get snowcones! They were delicious, to say the lease, and one of the best I've ever had.

After that we headed back to Josh and Alicia's house to get ready for Emmett's baptism. Their church building is right next to the temple, so they were able to get pictures in front of the temple. It was a great baptism. Isaac and Emmett's grandma Krupp gave talks, there was a cute musical number by Emmett and Melynn, as well as many other great things. The spirit was very strong and it was a very memorable moment for me.

After the baptism, we went back to Josh and Alicia's for cake and ice cream. The ice cream was delicious, a kind that they apparently only sell in the south. YUM!

It was so fun to be able to spend Emmett's birthday with him, and to be there to witness his baptism. He truly is a great young man.